Betsy & Iya Jewelry


Posts Tagged ‘cubicle escape’

The Great betsy & iya Road Trip: day 4

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

I can’t believe it’s only been four days and we’re having so much fun and success.  On day 4, we really knocked a couple out of the park.  If you’ve been checking up on us on Facebook, you’ve probably already booked your airfare to Denver/Boulder.  Not only is it gorgeous, not only are the people friendly, not only is it ALL SUN, but we also met with several lovely shop owners who have decided to pick up the line.

Meow Meow in Boulder: cute gift shop.

Unity Boutique in Denver: hip, colorful boutique with lines like Three Dots and Tom’s.

Fancy Tiger in Denver: with a craft shop across the street under the same name, FT is a fashion oriented DIY boutique.

We’re thrilled to have the line in ALL of these shops.

A shot that just doesn't do justice to the well-curated inside of Fancy Tiger.

We’ve met with old friends on this sojourn, shacking up with a professor of Betsy’s in Boulder, and running into a theatre colleague of mine from my east coast days.  I couldn’t have wished for better chats and more warmth, laughter, wit… jeez, this is starting to sound like a Betsy post ;-)

We listened to a Radiolab podcast on the drive in and they were examining sleep: what it does, why we do it, etc.  A researcher proposed that sleep is imperative to learning.  That, through the magic of the sleeping body, synaptic connections made during the day are actually weakened, allowing the unimportant stuff to slip away and the the important to persist and grow stronger over time.  It’s a powerful realization to think about this in relation to the way I feel now (happy, excited by people and places, with a sense of discovery and destiny sparkling up the day).  You start to realize the significance every day has on the physiology of your brain, and indeed, your brain’s propensity to stay active, agile, optimistic, curious, social.

Will, Betsy, and Robert Frost on the CU campus.

Wonder what my brain will look like after two more weeks of this.  Two more weeks of new places and old friends, good sleep, good food, and continued success.  I love my job.

***Song of the moment:  Open the World, by Sam Phillips***

Favorite lunches

Friday, September 10th, 2010

We’ve had some of the best lunches recently.  You’ll recall, dear readers, that lunches/snacks at work with my wife are one of my favorite things about my new(ish) job.  These past few weeks, we’ve been buying heirloom tomatoes from TJs and we feel like the lunch kings.  (an aside: take a note, New Seasons: 2lbs of these babies are $5 bucks at TJs.)  Let me show you what I’m talking about.

so ripe

Both Betsy and I grew up eating tomatoes out of the garden.  Well, I can’t say I grew up doing it, really… I remember growing out of my aversion to the gooey seed stuff later.  The only thing missing to take me all the way back is skinned knees and dirty nails, my dad smelling like a lawn mower, and a wooden bowl of Cheetos in the middle of the table.

too yummy to wait for the photo-op

What about you?  What have you been eating for lunch?

***Song of the moment: Sycamore, by Bill Callahan***

things I love about my new job

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

As you may suspect, here at betsy & iya, we have a strict no-cubicle policy.  With a total office/studio/shop square footage coming in well below 300, we have found that cubicles make the following things difficult:

opening the door, seeing outside, closing the door, walking, being happy, sweeping, & finding appropriate storage space for our mountains of cash.


So, it’s easy to see why we liquidated our last cubicle ages ago.  This is a move I fully supported before coming on board and one of many things I love about my new job.  Here’s the full and growing list:

no paychecks: because the coolest thing about every other Friday should never be the larger number in your checking account. (ps, IRS: Lupe totally gets a regular paycheck.)

working through lunch: We ate lunch at 4:45pm yesterday.  Who knew caloric deprivation could be so satisfying?

making my wife snacks/eating snacks my wife makes: quickest way to a man’s productivity.

stealing kisses in the break room: shhhh… don’t tell Lupe.

dance parties in the morning: easier when you’re not wearing a tie.

my boss telling me she could care less if I shave: more time for dance parties.

grocery shopping at 10am: SO. MUCH. ROOM!

the whiteboard: SO. MUCH. ORGANIZATION!

but most of all: making up my own job and wanting to be the best at it. I mean, where else do you get to spend hours on Photoshop, use power tools, develop marketing plans, write blog posts, sweep and mop, pack up cars, have fun with sweet customers, drink a beer at 2pm, work until 1am, plan road trips, go on road trips… et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

***Music Video of the moment: End Love, by OkGo.***

Meeting of the minds.

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

We rode our bikes to work today.  Then we had a meeting.  For the business.

The breeze from the ride in must have stuck in our hair, the morning sun in our eyes, and the waking city quiet in our ears.  Our meeting was stellar.  We all three shared ideas and enthusiasm as big edges of new plateaus came into focus.

…wait.  we all three?  who the?  three?  *rummages for meeting agenda*  plateaus… check.  big edges, yes yes.  old business, new business… ah, yes.  Here it is:  Roll Call.

Betsy Cross, present.

Lupe Torres-Cater, present.

Will Cervarich, present.

WAIT!  That third guy!  How did he get in?!  *rummage rummage rummage*  OH!  THAT’S ME!  That’s right, everyone: the huzzy is here to stay and his first assignment is a fantastic blog post.  (*fingers crossed I’m doing a good job*) Hi, world.  I’m thrilled (ecstatic, really) to make your acquaintance.  Thank you for having me.  Thanks for the bike ride, the full whiteboard on the back wall, the simmering ideas and excitement.  Most of all: Thanks for loving my Bets so much.  We can’t wait to show you what we have planned.

At my old office, there was a little store down the hall that sold lottery tickets and candy, etc.  The proprietor had a memory like a triple backed-up laser super computer.  He knew where everyone worked and every time you bought a lottery ticket, he’d wish you good luck that one day you’d be able to leave your job behind. “Bye-byeeee, FATCO!,” he’d say to me (and every other lotto hopeful, inserting their employer).  Well folks, I’ve finally won the lottery and it’s grand.  “Helloooo, betsy & iya!”

***Song of the Moment: Golden Phone, by Micachu***